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CAREERMy article appearing in South Bay Accent magazine: Career Coach, Roy Blitzer Do tell the mail carrier you're looking for work. Don't tell the job recruiter your old boss takes two-hour lunches. Do ask for career advice--and use it. Don't demand a "bring your pet to work day" clause in your next job negotiation. You'll follow these axioms if you listen to the man who goes by "Dr."Business (he does have an MBA, however), Wolf 's "distant cousin," professor, or, more often than not, Roy Blitzer, trusted career coach. Thinking ahead Roy has been happily sharing insightful career transition advice with Silicon Valley job seekers for more than 25 years. And if a few of his ideas sound like quirks--Roy's input usually works. Ask any of the hundreds of clients who cite much of their success to his tutelage. Or try his job search tips yourself (see below). If you earn a new job offer, the second happiest person will be Roy. An Executive and Management Consultant for Spherion Consulting in Cupertino, Roy regularly dispenses expert guidance for out-placed workers--with candid feedback often the approach of psychologists and clergy. "I am successful in my field because I've made a lifelong commitment to personal satisfaction in my career," Roy says, "and so I encourage--even proselytize--my clients to appreciate the same." While Roy adeptly advises senior managers, speaks to industry gatherings, and has chaired the Palo Alto Human Relations Commission, he values educating professionals at all levels. Early in his career at Syntex, Roy led seminars to train administrators (then often called secretaries) in understanding how to grow in a job, become productive, and feel good about their potential. "So much feedback for clients begins with my asking, 'Have you thought of this ...?,'" Roy says, "because, given the tools to act, most job seekers will respond with three good ideas for every one I suggest." Roy reminds his more ambitious clients that while it's important to maintain a proactive job search schedule, the process should not favor worker bees. Occasionally, clients will report to him on minor activities "just to please the coach." This can be a sign that the job search is off track. The goal, Roy asserts, is not about putting in time but identifying doable jobs--ones that energize you. The kind where it's 5:30 p.m. and you're still at your desk, thinking ahead. You might wonder, what's the drive? Workaholic? Type-A? "I love what I do, I make no excuses. I work hard and play hard. I wish such passion for everyone," Roy says. Play includes trips with his wife and two daughters to lots of out-of-the-way European locales. He also enjoys the occasional banter involving Wolf Blitzer, his very distant relative, the renowned CNN broadcaster. "I get the news about Wolf from time to time, including family members who have met him early in his career as a reporter for the Jerusalem Post. I'm not hit upon for career advice, however. I think he's doing a pretty good job on his own." Professional perspectives For someone with his own distinguished career in employment counseling, Roy, as you must imagine, has seen lots of client successes--and the wrong turns--over the years. "Of course I'm happy to tell you about the job search stories that ended well," he says, "but I'm sure you're just as eager to learn from the ones that became nightmares." Treat everyone with respect and attention, Roy says, and they'll confide in you about job leads. Roy recalls coaching Don Lawton, a "40-something" former IT executive struggling to re-start his career. Downsized from his VP of Internet Services role with Techtron Systems, Don's company offered him sessions with a Spherion career coach--Roy. "I wasn't going to use the coaching, I was just going to pocket the cash," he says. When searching Internet job boards and routing resumes failed to produce real job opportunities, Don took a month's "vacation." "I gave it a good push, then shut it down," he says. It was time to talk to Roy. "Roy had me pegged right away," Don says. Roy realized that Don's problem wasn't losing a job, it was losing a network. "Don was proud of his work," Roy says, "but attention to details isolated him from much client contact. And he wasn't aware about the circles of peers, friends, and strangers who could help him." "Nose to the grindstone," Don notes. "That was me. Working with Roy was a great way to get back on everyone's radar." Roy helped him set up a five-part PR campaign. Don talked to leaders of career-help organizations, peers in "success teams," clients in info interviews, speakers at seminars, and recruiters at job fairs. "I did land one part-time job," Don notes. "I subbed as a stand-up comic on open-mike nights at a San Jose comedy club." Don pushed himself outside his comfort zone, Roy remarks, "and after a month, you'd think he was running for office. He was that persistent in getting job referrals." Not all contacts panned out--one tip led to his old job!--but one paid off. A former client had seen Don's comedy gig, and later ran into him at a seminar. The two struck up a conversation, and Don learned about a new Web management job in his client's company. The client walked Don's resume into the hiring manager's office and put in a good word. Six weeks later, Don landed the job--no joke. Roy also cites it's important to apply quality job standards at all times. "Do your best work, and often someone helpful will notice," he says. In Linda Cairo's case, the person who noticed turned out to be the one who had laid her off. Linda, a Senior Ad Executive with a Palo Alto agency, Sprite Ideas, had been let go when her company failed to land a big must-have account. But she was expected to put a red bow on one last untidy project. Linda was annoyed, and wanted to spike the job. But she remembered the advice of her career coach, "Never fire yourself." She had met with Roy a couple of times (on the advice of a peer shepherding her career) for his coaching on professional poise. "Linda was very talented," Roy recalls. "She just needed to take her job less personally. We worked on turning her alarm into her action." Roy suggested Linda complete the lame-duck duty in record time and with award-winning creativity. "What the heck," Linda says, "I gave it everything I had to finish a sneaker ad for a TV spot in two weeks. I wasn't even paid. But I was determined to go out on my creative terms." The CEO got the picture. Suddenly noticing Linda's initiative, stamina, and perfectionism, he asked his HR how she could have been axed. Numbers weren't an excuse. Linda was invited back like the prodigal daughter. And the sneaker ad? Nike is now the company's top account. "Believe in your abilities, and you'll always do well, whatever the circumstances," Roy asserts. "Regrettably," Roy says, "not all my stories involve rags-to-riches outcomes. There are the blunders, too. But they're the steps we learn to avoid." Take the case of the man who got into a loud, personal argument with his daughter's soccer league referee. What do you think were his chances when a week later he interviewed for a job with the same person? Or consider the fate of the impatient woman who went into a price complaint meltdown with a clerk in the supermarket line: she discovered too late that the HR recruiter who had met with her earlier was standing within earshot. Ouch. "Maintain your emotional perspective," Roy advises,"because some job appraisals are made in the unlikeliest places." Job search do's and don'ts Let's have a look, then, at Roy's list of job search dos and don'ts. "I have a few, tried and true," he says. "And the successes or failures that go along." According to Roy, do tell everyone about the kind of job you're looking for (what makes you tick); prioritize your time and stick to a job campaign (be accountable to others--especially your accountant); ask for job advice and tell others how it worked out; set realistic search goals and expectations; and avoid a radical career shift in the current down market (it's not the time to take on that surfing instructor gig). On the other hand (we know this won't be you), don't ... tell others inappropriate info (gossip) about former employers (Networking 101: what goes around, comes around); rely on prospecting Internet job postings (Roy calls it Internet-itis); negotiate marginal (trivial) sign-on terms in a buyer's job market; talk too much in interviews (you may talk yourself out of a job); or assume a job offer is final unless it's in writing (let the ink dry before you book your two-week paid vacation). In his personal vision of vocation, Roy, a.k.a. "Dr Business," dreams of taking his Bay Area TV show and "going national, like Dr. Phil." If he continues following his own advice, who's to say he won't soon succeed? His truisms of job excellence remain strong. Be loyal to your skills, interests, and values. Balance your personal and professional goals. Continually assess your career direction, needs, and joys. And when you want a little extra special advice, ask someone like Roy, a coach's coach, to help you help yourself. The job hunter: Roy's tips for the jungle We all like shortcuts. And while finding your way in today's job jungle can be challenging, you do have Roy's guide to help lead the way. "The best path," Roy asserts, "is the one you make on your own." Consider the following a head start.
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